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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!george
From: george@cornell.UUCP (George R. Boyce)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Re: Network differences
Message-ID: <1801@cornell.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Dec-85 11:09:15 EST
Article-I.D.: cornell.1801
Posted: Wed Dec 18 11:09:15 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 01:31:51 EST
References: <2301@sdcc6.UUCP> <560@brl-sem.ARPA> <9085@ritcv.UUCP> <174@bnl.UUCP>
Reply-To: george@cornell.UUCP (George R. Boyce)
Distribution: net
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept.
Lines: 24
Summary: 

In article <174@bnl.UUCP> myers@bnl.UUCP (Eric Myers) writes:
>> In article <560@brl-sem.ARPA> ron@brl-sem.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) writes:
>>> BITNET:  BITNET is to the IBM world what UUCP is to the UNIX world.
>
>This is not an accurate characterization.  There are all sorts of
>machines on Bitnet, running VM/CMS, MVS, and UNIX.  I'm on a Unix
>machine right now.  What is true is that the protocols for Bitnet
>(RSCS) were designed by IBM, and Bitnet originally consisted of
>just IBM machines.  I think that most of the machines on that net
>are still IBM.
>
>The best description of Bitnet is that it is a network of University
>and Research lab computers linked together using the RSCS protocols.

There is also support for "mail-only" bitnet sites which do not know rscs
but which are connected to machines which do use rscs protocols. Alas,
a good number of people do not know this and the support has been going
downhill ever since it was created. I know because my tops-20 machine,
CRNL20A, is connected to CORNELLC which forwards files via a rje interface.
More and more systems are joining bitnet which are not smart enough to
forward mail via my CORNELLC gateway. Sigh.

George Boyce, Cornell Computer Services, george@cornell (george@crnl20a.bitnet)